Heretics
by titaniasfics
Summary: "Attachments lead to loss. Loss leads to suffering. Suffering leads to fear. Fear is the path to the Dark Side." But in a universe where Jedi are hunted and Good struggles to exist, it is Katniss and Peeta's uncommon connection that makes them powerful...and wanted. Based loosely on Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Extended Universe.
1. Awakening

**Chapter 1 - Awakening**

 _ **It is a time of uncertainty. Unrest grips the galaxy as the influence of the Capitol is nearly without limit. Supreme Leader Snow visits tyranny on the planets of the former Republic. However, little do the subjects of his empire know that he is also Lord Invictus and seeks his most powerful apprentice, a beacon of Good that he can turn to the Dark Side.**_

 _ **However a glimmer of hope shines on the remote planet of Thirteen, in the form of the New Jedi Temple. Unknown to Master Abernathy and his handful of young Padawan, their greatest trial awaits. And yet, as they struggle, a power for both good and evil, which has not been witnessed for thousands of years, will emerge from the ranks of the last of the young Jedi...**_

 **XXXXX**

 _ **Ignis**_

 _ **Member, Intergalactic Federation**_

 _ **Documented: Inhabited**_

Katniss Everdeen ran along the coal-covered road that wound a path through the Seam like a drunken serpent. She slowed her pace when one of the older women turned their cataract-glazed eyes toward her, frowning in disapproval at the speed with which the little girl hurtled toward town. Katniss walked with forced dignity until the turn in the road hid her from the woman's sight before she took up her run again, this time skipping lightly on her toes, her school bag bouncing rhythmically against the small of her back. Her father had picked blueberries from the field beyond the fence and, together with her family, had eaten them for breakfast. Her mouth was still bursting with the tart flavor and her belly was full and happy. Katniss couldn't imagine anything better.

But she knew she was wrong. There _was_ something better. Ever since she'd started school, she'd loved it. Dad took her the first day but she'd insisted afterward was a big girl now and could go by herself, so Mom could stay home and take care of Prim.

The red brick building came into view, with an adjacent school yard bordered by a rusted fence. Her eyes fell on a group of kids throwing a ball while others squealed and dodged it. Katniss loved mat-ball and dropped her backpack on a pile of other school bags to join in. Soon, she was shouting and squealing with the group as she rounded the makeshift bases, trying to keep from getting smashed by the worn, foam ball.

She jumped up and down, laughing in delight when she saw a boy sitting on a bench, bent over his shoes. His blond hair swung as he clumsily tied the rabbit ears, double-knotting them. Katniss was actually very good at tying her shoes and took pride in the fact that they rarely came undone during the school day. As the boy straightened, Katniss' curiosity turned to horror when she saw the biggest welt she'd ever seen covering part of the boy's face. It was shiny and blue-ish, the taut skin surrounding a swollen eye.

Never one to sit on a thought for long, Katniss approached him slowly, staring at the blue-black skin. She searched her memory for the boy's name.

"Peeta?" she asked, sitting down next to him. He was in the same kindergarten class as her and sometimes, the teacher paired them together to work on their sight words. "What happened to your eye?"

He stared at the ground, shrugging. "I fell," he said simply.

Katniss was disturbed by his response but was unable to explain why she didn't like it. "You...fell? On your eye?"

"Yeah!" he said defensively, looking up at her. His left eye was swollen shut but his right eye bore into her, locking on hers. Katniss felt something hit her, so strongly, she was sure she would fall on the ground. She experienced a sudden explosion of images in her mind, at first out of sequence but then resolving into a narrative where she was the central character. She stood before a blazing oven, the heat licking at her skin, though she was nowhere indoors. Rolls lay at her feet, together with an overturned tray and soon she was down on her knees, collecting the fallen bread. In her memory, she looked up to see a woman standing over her whom she could not quite place, her face twisted in rage, rolling pin in hand. She felt the impact of the wood on the side of her face, the explosion of pain, the memory of agony. Frightened, Katniss blinked furiously, her vision clearing again and came to rest on the boy who stared strangely at her.

"You didn't fall," Katniss said quietly, shaking her head as if to rid her mind of the lingering images. She was suddenly overwhelmed with an urge to cry but she hated crying more than she hated taking medicine. It made her eyes hurt and her cheeks swollen and after, all she wanted to do was fall asleep.

Peeta's lips became a thin, hard line. The bell howled, startling them both. Without another word, Peeta rose from the bench and sprinted after the other children. Katniss watched his escape, mulling over the images she had seen until she was the last child in the play yard. Still heavy with the mystery of her visions, she picked up her lonely bag and walked unhurriedly to her homeroom.

 **XXXXX**

Outside of class, she did not speak to Peeta again for several days. Though she'd had that strange occurence, her young mind was soon captivated by her day-to-day adventures. Secrets were no mystery to her. She snuck out each day with her father to shoot a small bow and arrow in the forest, something her parents had strictly forbidden her to speak of. She wasn't sure why but she knew when Father said things in that way, she had better listen.

So Katniss stored the encounter with Peeta as one such secret, if only for herself, and moved on with things, skipping back and forth to school each day, sneaking out into the woods each afternoon and weekend, learning to hunt as well as to gather herbs. In school, she did her work, played during recess and in general lived each moment as children often do - as if that moment were the beginning and end of all things.

Mrs. Dallows, their specials teacher, clapped her hands to catch her young pupil's attention. Today's special was music, which was Katniss's absolute favorite class. She enjoyed art well enough - though not as much as some, like Peeta, who drew with his lips pinched between his teeth, duplicating whatever was in front of him - and woodwork was interesting enough, if only because Katniss sometimes got to help hold the wood while the teacher drilled holes with the electric drill. But music was the only special that made her heart flutter. It reminded her of her father, who played a small fiddle and sang every free moment he could spare, songs from the mountains, songs from his family. She thought he might actually be a giant, magical songbird, flying out each day at sunrise to warble with his fellow magical creatures in the forest before transforming back into her father and returning to live with them each day in his human guise.

With these daydream in her mind, Katniss barely heard Mrs. Dallows when she asked for a volunteer to sing the Valley Song. Without a conscious thought, Katniss's hand shot up, stretching as far as her slender limbs allowed, practically leaping out of her chair as she muttered _Me! Me! Me!_ under her breath. With a smile, Mrs. Dallows selected her, after which Katniss jumped up and bounced to the front of the classroom. She didn't have that wariness of her peers that she would develop later in life, after time and tragedy had had their way with her. Today, the way Katniss was, she thrived on attention and loved to show off her talents.

Mrs. Dallows helped her onto the wood chair so that she was above the level of the other students. Her dress - red plaid with a white ribbon from a collection of them that her mother kept, swayed along with Katniss as Mrs. Dallows tapped out the simple notes on the piano. Katniss swallowed, looking out at her Kindergarten class, drawn in particular to one blond boy, whose eyes were as blue as Prim's favorite Sunday dress.

Katniss opened her mouth and she was suddenly with her father, when they'd gone out to search for acorns just that week. They each filled a large basket, after which they spent the better part of the afternoon at home with Prim, grinding them down to a fine powder that mother then used to make maple acorn cakes. As each note fell from her lips, almost of their own accord, she felt the joy of that day fill her up and bind itself to the song she sang.

As if in response to her own happiness, another memory broke through - and Katniss was transported by it even though she continued to sing and hear herself make the melodic sound. She saw a small but strong hand being guided by larger, calloused ones as they hovered over freshly baked sugar cookies. The smell of vanilla and sugar was overpowering as flowers graced each cookie, appearing on the one she focused on now. The small hands took a toothpick and shaped each petal - white with a purple vein along the middle. Katniss arrived to the last refrain, singing each note, immersed in a memory that was not hers yet full of a joy as palpable as the moment her father picked her up after she'd ground all the acorns in her basket. The warm hand resting over the smaller one, guiding the work on the cookie became her father's hands on her waist as he tossed her upwards. And her flight became a kiss on her head when the katniss flower on the cookie materialized with such aching perfection, she thought for sure her heart would burst from the beauty of it.

When the song ended, each child in the audience sat in awe, caught in the receding after-effects of a voice so exquisite, the world had fallen silent around them. Some sat with mouth agape, others grinning as if they, too had been transported to a moment of great joy, while Mrs. Dallows sniffed quietly, mumbling to herself as she wiped a tear from her cheek. But it was Peeta, blue eyes locked onto hers, who held her enthralled. What entered her thoughts was something akin to speech. But it was nothing but a murmur, soft and entreating, the sound never resolving into actual words. The beginnings of fear grew like an icy flame in her belly but the cooing, gentle words that were not words comforted her despite their inexplicable existence in her mind.

Katniss stepped off of the chair, looking down only to keep from falling before she captured his eyes again, as if he were a guest come for a visit and she'd been waiting a painfully long while for him to come. She made her way to her seat in the back, knowing she'd have to let her gaze fall but before she did so, she smiled. Something had happened but it did not horrify her. The only thing she could be sure of was that the hand in her memory had somehow been his.

The look on his face, a combination of awe, shock and reverence, softened when he smiled in return, with such sweetness, Katniss repressed an involuntary urge to cry and laugh and shout all at once. She was both pained and relieved when she took her place behind him, effectively ending that intense connection, the wonder and the strangeness that Katniss would dwell upon for a long time to come.

 **XXXXX**

On another day, she went out into the woods with her father to check his snares. He untied the rabbit from the wiry invention, showing Katniss how to reset it again when he was done. She'd gotten quite good at some of the basic snares but she would never be as good as her father. She was sure of it. Her father was a giant of a man who, in her mind, could do anything, and better than anyone else.

The wind was wild in the forest and though the weather was warm enough, it bore the smell of winter from the mountain peaks which were already covered in snow. The cold would arrive soon while Katniss and her father were busy building up their stores in preparation for the scarcity that tried all the residents of their small district. The government, her father said, paid them very little mind and only worried about what they produced, which was coal, giving very little to its citizens in return. They squashed their people with unrealistic production quotas and punished them with near starvation. It was cruel and wrong.

"But you should never repeat what I say in town, okay, pumpkin?" he admonished her at the end of his rant. Katniss nodded, though every word he said was etched in her mind, even if the concepts were somewhat beyond her. When she thought of the word _government,_ she thought of Peacekeepers and the President and old men giving speeches. They were vague ideas that only made an impact on her when her father complained about them.

Katniss shivered. The sky had gone dark as clouds rolled in from the mountain valley of the north. As if reading her mind, Mr. Everdeen straightened from his work with the snares and glanced up at the sky, shaking his head. "It looks like a flash storm. We'd better head home before the lightning starts up."

Nodding, Katniss helped her father hide their bows and arrows in the trees (another of those secrets he'd asked her to keep), gripping his hand when they were done and walking as fast as they could through the undergrowth toward the direction of the Seam. The wind whipped the leaves into a frenzy, lifting Katniss's heavy braids so that the ends stung her cheeks. The tension in her father's hand made it rigid and almost painful to hold onto, which only magnified the fear that had started to unfurl in her chest. She never liked storms - the way the booming thunder was always followed by the ruthless crackling of lightning. It filled her with a terrible apprehension, never more than at that moment, as she now jogged to keep up with her father's long legs.

As Katniss focused on the ground before her, she saw it before it happened. A shattering of wood. The stench of burnt fibers. The strange, electric smell that suddenly filled the air. Hairs on her entire body stood at attention, as if each and every little strand were being pulled from her skin and scalp. And her father, two steps to her left, stood in the trajectory of a prodigious, falling pine.

It was instantaneous, the understanding that disaster was imminent. The shadow that crossed her father's forehead as he saw what she had only envisioned a few moments before. Her shout of anger, despair and something else, something so primitive and powerful, it was as if she'd channeled all the universe into a single point in the center of her small body. Hands up, a crouch like a hunter and her father, aghast as Katniss, _it had to be Katniss_ , kept a tree that had only moments before scraped the heavens, suspended in mid-air before him. She screamed - her fear and anger fueling something more dense than the electricity released by the lightning and her father, in awe, terror and confusion, moved out from under the shadow of his death blow, the uncertainty written into every line of his tired face.

Katniss woke from her trance to see the spectacle of the tree hovering before her and, with a gasp, stepped back, letting the giant collapse before her, showering them both in needles and pine cones. She stumbled further backwards into her father's arms as she stared at her hands, the tree, the storm that was approaching them, preceded by a curtain of rain that would soon drench them in the freezing cold water of their winter mountains. Katniss looked up into her father's grey eyes, eyes she had inherited, wide with terror. He looked at her for an instant as something disconnected from him - a foreigner, an alien creature who could not possibly be related to him. The look he gave her terrified her more than what she'd just done.

But he recovered himself and clutched the little girl to his chest. Without reason or provocation, Katniss burst into tears against her father's neck. He smelled like the mines where he labored each day, and the forest where he escaped to with his daughter. He shushed and cooed her, lifting her up into his powerful arms.

"Papa?" she asked, as if he could give her the answer to this, as he had always done. He was the only one who could make everything make sense.

"It's okay. It was just…" but the confusion was written on his face. He was just as lost as she was and the feeling of being unmoored from her security was the worst feeling she had ever experienced. She needed his solidity to understand what had happened.

But instead of clarity, he held her close to him and raced, as quickly as he could, back to their small home in the poorest part of the smallest District in the great land of Panem, the only inhabited country in the entire planet of Ignis. Or so they had always been told.

 **XXXXX**

Katniss somehow returned to school the next day but instead of bouncing down the road, she dragged her legs, her feet as weighty as the great stones that separated the town center from the poor neighborhood of the Seam. Her father had set her down outside their small home after the events of the falling pine and, though the cold rain drenched them, took the moment to make her swear never to speak of what had happened in the forest.

"It's a secret, like our hunting and the bows and arrows, okay, pumpkin?" he'd said with forced playfulness, rubbing Katniss's arms almost compulsively, though the rain barrelled down on them like a hail of icy bullets. Katniss was frozen, both inside and out, and could only manage to nod, after which her father had taken her inside to change her into dry clothing.

Now, on the steps of the school house, she glanced over at the children who leapt happily about the yard, engaged in passionate play, eking every last moment of joy before they entered the school house for the serious business of learning. Katniss could not bring herself to join the other children. She remembered the look her father gave her when she'd stopped the tree from crushing them both, as if he had been seeing her for the first time, and not as his beloved daughter whom he'd loved unconditionally for her entire life. She could not compute its strangeness, nor could she have given name to the alienation that she'd felt at that moment. All she could articulate in her head, over and over, was that she was Different. Strange. Wierd. Her father's look had confirmed that.

 _Freak._

As she watched the children scramble inside the schoolhouse, she sensed those same blue eyes on her, staring, always staring, probably for the entire time she'd been sitting on the step, trying to avoid the rush of legs and feet as they stomped up to their classroom. She turned and confirmed that he was, indeed, watching her from across the schoolyard. It was as if he knew, _he knew_ what she'd done. He'd seen her father's reaction and knew the emptiness she now carried inside, the emptiness that comes from being different. He knew and she could not imagine how. For reasons unknown to her, she was overcome with anger, standing with a sudden fury at his understanding. It was her secret. She shared it with her father. It was for no one else, especially not the strange, abused son of the local baker.

Katniss whirled around and stomped up the stairs behind a gaggle of students. She paused only briefly in her rage to wonder how she knew what she knew about him but she was too angry to dwell on it. Soon, the lessons of the day pushed down both her sense of strangeness and the memory of the boy, allowing her to complete the day in relative peace.

 **XXXXX**

Katniss didn't like the sound of the voices coming from the kitchen of her house. Her mother, so pretty and gentle, had a strange look on her face when she asked Katniss to watch Prim in the her small bedroom. "Be a good girl and play with your sister while your father and I speak to the nice gentleman," she'd said. But her mother's eyes were wide and her face somewhat pale and Katniss knew without a doubt that her mother was not enthusiastic about their visitor.

Katniss did what she was told, playing with Prim, who was only three years old and as small as a baby rabbit. Katniss mostly liked her sister, though sometimes, the baby wanted her big sister's toys, something Katniss didn't like all that much. Katniss didn't mind sharing with Prim but there were times that her sister had broken the things Katniss gave her to play with. But she was her little sister and mostly, Katniss enjoyed playing and taking care of the girl with blond hair and blue eyes, like her mother.

She soon forgot the adults in the other room until her father called for her. Her mother smiled at her as she walked to the kitchen and went to fetch her sister from the room so that Katniss was alone with her father and another man whom she did not recognize. He looked very similar to her father - straight black hair and eyes the color of water that had leeched coal dust from the mines, a clear, grey that seemed tired to her. He wore strange clothes - not mining clothes or a Peacekeeper uniform but more like a robe with a leather sash at the waist. Katniss drifted next to her father, who held her close.

"Katniss, this is Haymitch Abernathy. He is a teacher from a very special school. He wanted to meet you."

Katniss stared at the man, who seemed a bit older than her father. He did not scare her and she felt herself very much at ease with him. "Nice to meet you, sir," she said, just as her mother had always taught her. She offered her hand, which the older gentleman took, shaking it gently. He did not let go right away but held it as he peered into her eyes. It was a steady gaze that she could not easily break from and suddenly, she had the strangest feeling of not being alone, not just in the room, but in her head. She didn't like it, it felt like a splinter under her skin that she couldn't help but get out. She shook her head, which caused the man to blink, his eyes widening in surprise.

"The Force is strong with this one," he said in awe, letting her hand fall to her side.

"But is it absolutely necessary?" her father asked, his voice suddenly shaking.

"The alternative would be much worse. Your government is just the weakest manifestation of the problem. Lord Invictus grows stronger with each moment that passes and your daughter will no doubt be discovered."

"But she is so small…" and for the first time, she was sure her father was close to tears, which froze Katniss in place. Her father, the strongest man she'd ever met, was blinking away the moisture in his eyes and suddenly, she did not like the older man anymore.

"You have always known this was a possibility because of your own mother. The dark side was weaker than. She could remain with her family while she trained. But the young Padawans of today...they are being targeted. Hunted. Would you prefer that, Owen?"

"Maybe if she doesn't...use her powers? We are so far from the Capitol," Mr. Everdeen said, the hint of a desperate hope in his every word. She didn't like the helplessness in his voice and pressed herself into his side, letting him hold her there.

"I felt the disturbance all the way in the Jedi Temple! The girl is strong - she will not be ignored."

My mother returned with Prim, her eyes misty and red, as if she'd been crying. "We have no choice. It has to be done. I'll not have my child…" she couldn't complete the sentence, turning instead to the coal stove with Prim on her hip to pour out the tea. "It has to be done."

Mr. Everdeen nodded, turning his face away to stare at the door, his expression hidden from Katniss. When he turned back, he looked down at her with eyes wide, full of so much love, it frightened her.

"Katniss, honey, Mr. Abernathy is a teacher at a very special school. He says - and I can confirm this - that you would make an amazing candidate for this school. All those special things you do - like what happened in the forest? You will be taught to do more things than that and you will become very strong." Katniss tilted her head, trying to understand his words, a growing ache in her heart keeping her from really capturing his meaning.

"Is there a special school here, in District 12?" she asked, but her mind had always been difficult to fool and suddenly, just from the stricken expression on her father's face. She knew. She _knew_.

"No, pumpkin, it's not here. You might have to...go away...to study…" he choked on the last words and coughed to cover it but Katniss already knew and his attempts to soften the blow only made her more desperate.

"I don't want to go! I don't want to go anywhere! I want to stay with you!" she shouted. She wheeled on the man in the chair, the bringer of bad news, the bad luck man, to Katniss's mind. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're a bad, bad man!" she shouted, then ran to her room, slamming the door and locking it behind her. Flinging herself onto the bed, Katniss burst into tears. She felt like her family didn't want her because she was weird. A strange girl who could stop trees from falling in mid-air. And her father had decided to send her away because of it.

After a while, Katniss heard the door of her room unlock and open. Her mattress sagged as someone sat next to her. She felt small circles on her back and accepted them, because she knew the hand that touched her and made her feel safe and at ease.

"Why don't you want me anymore?" she said with a small voice. Soon she was being scooped up as her father held her in his lap.

"I do want you. I love you so much - more than anything else in the entire world. I love you from here to the stars," he said, invoking a game they played in which they expressed their love by how far and wide it reached. To Katniss, the stars had always been the maximum distance that anyone could arrive at. "But you are special, Katniss. You're going to get stronger and then, you will become dangerous and I don't know how I'm going to protect you then." He squeezed her when he said these words. "But the school you are going to will teach you how to use your power. You will become a great warrior, just like your grandmother."

"You mean, grandma could do what I did in the forest?" Katniss asked, her eyes drying suddenly and her back straightening with something like pride.

"Yes, even though she didn't make a big deal out of it. We aren't allowed to speak of it anymore but there used to be many just like you. They defended good. They protected the people. But now…things are different..." he let the words trail off. He took a deep breath and shook off whatever sadness was encroaching on him. "You have to go and be strong now. You have to learn so that you can fight for good and protect the weak. You are special and I'm sending you with Master Abernathy, not because you are not loved but because I love you too much to risk something happening to you."

"I'll become a fighter? A warrior?" she asked and though the prospect of leaving her family terrified and saddened her, the idea of being a fighter excited a secret place in her, the one she always tried so hard to hide from everyone.

"More than a warrior, Katniss. You will become a Jedi."

A Jedi? Katniss wasn't sure what that meant but it sounded extraordinary to her. She straightened, smoothing out her little dress. She looked around her small bedroom and already felt like she was a stranger here. Her grandmother. A warrior? And now she would be one too? This knowledge brought out something familiar in her, a power that she'd known had always had sat in the middle of her chest and led her where she needed to go. Obeying it felt strangely, not as if she were leaving but as if she were coming home to something, though she could not be sure what home really was.

When they returned to the kitchen, Katniss ran to her mother and hugged her tightly. Master Abernathy nodded in approval as Katniss came to stand before him. She searched his face for something that might scare her but all she saw was a certain kindness that put her at ease. She sensed words inside of him, and, if she tried very hard, she knew could understand the words he said without him actually speaking. Something about him drew her to him and she did not shy away from it.

 _Jedi._

Katniss would learn to be strong.

"You are a brave little girl," the older man said, patting her head. "You already recognize the Force in me. She is remarkable, Elise."

Her mother nodded, biting her lip, perhaps to keep from crying. "I've always known that, Haymitch."

Haymitch turned his attention to Katniss, nodding again as if in approval. "You're lucky, Katniss. If you come with me, you are going to take a trip in a spacecraft. Do you know what a spacecraft is?"

Katniss nodded. "We read about them in school You mean, I'm going to go up…?"

Mr. Everdeen stepped near his daughter and knelt down before her. "Yes, child. You are going to go all the way up to the stars...and beyond."

Katniss's eyes widened while her mother turned away, gripping the edge of the stove. "I'll get to see the stars?" she asked in awe, her remaining fears dissipating in the expectation of a great adventure, the biggest one of her life.

"Yes," Haymitch said. "And you'll be happy to know that you won't be alone. There is another, a boy exactly your age from this same fistrict. He will keep you company on your journey and train together with you and the other children." Turning his eyes to Mr. Everdeen, Haymitch added. "And he is just as strong as Katniss."

Mr. Everdeen stared back at his guest and nodded, and Katniss had the feeling they were talking with their eyes, about things that no one else was supposed to know, not even her. She knew, from deep within her, that if she just tried hard enough, she'd be able to read the thoughts of those men. But she didn't know where to go or how to do it, so it eluded her and she had to be content with knowing that they were not telling everything they knew.

If she went with Master Abernathy, she would learn. She'd become strong. She would be safe and her family would be, too. She'd have company, someone she hoped would be a friend to her. Maybe it would be Violet, from her reading class, or Lars, her funny friend from science.

But Katniss already knew, before even asking the question, who her companion would be. She realized if she allowed herself, there were all kinds of things she just _knew_. It was a locked door to which she had simply misplaced the key. Maybe Master Abernathy could help her with that too?

She took in her father, proud but sad, her mother who could not turn around and look at her and somehow, Katniss knew that it would be hard for her mother to let her go, something that would make her unbearably sad. And yet, despite this, she turned to the man before her and put her small chin up. With a very serious voice, she said, "Okay, I'll go with you." And in that moment, tiny Katniss, with the double braids and the power to move worlds, set the gears of her destiny in motion, though to her, it was merely another game that she would play, like the ones she played on the playground of her school. The only thing missing now was her playmate, her partner.

When Haymitch brought her to the ship that would take them away, Katniss was not surprised. In fact there was something infinitely right about the moment Peeta Mellark stood from the seat where he waited for her upon entering the passenger section of the ship. It was more than inevitable when she greeted him and took the seat next to him, as if she'd had an expectation and he'd simply met it. When Haymitch powered up the vessel, they didn't speak. They already knew what they'd say to each other. Instinctively, they reached for each other's hand and held tightly as the ship broke through the trees, past the clouds and plunged them all into space, glittering with the pinpoints of stars and galaxies.

 **XXXXX**

 **Okay, those opening paragraphs are supposed to invoke the scrolling text at the beginning of each Star Wars movie. I'm not sure if it came off as it should but there is that.**

 **A lot of the lore in this fic is from** _**Star Wars: The Force Awakens**_ **but I feel like this story is really a deviation from both THG and SW universes. I ship Finn and Rey super hard but this is really not meant to reflect any of the current SW ships. Just take it for what it is!**

 **I want to thank, first and foremost, Stacylk, who agreed to help me with this fic. From the planning to her consulting and contribution of Peeta's backstory, she's been a real motivator in getting this fic done. As soon as she is ready, she will be jumping in on some chapters. I also want to thank akai-echo, for her incredible banner and her constant support and friendship (what would I do without you?) and thegirlfromoverthepond, who preread and really knows how to keep my spirits up. You are a lovely, wonderful lady.**

 **I'm also super thrilled that one of my all-time, favorite writers, finnicko-loves-anniec, gave these chapters a lookover. She is, in addition to being a brilliant writer of Everlark, Odesta and SW:TFA fanfiction, also my Star Wars guru. I am thrilled and grateful that she took a moment to read the chapters I've written so far and offer some feedback on important plot points. She also pointed out that, in** _ **Fate of the Jedi**_ **, there is a storyline about two lovers who are bound by the Force in a similar way as Everlark in this tale. I had not read this story but I am happy that someone else conceived of this in (what was once) canon and that I'm not coming out of left field with this. It makes the connection Katniss and Peeta share more realistic in the Star Wars: Extended Universe (it will be interesting to see what Disney does with it now).**

 **This is one of the few fics that I've written ahead of publishing. I can't wait to share those chapters with you!**

 **Please review!**


	2. Padawans

**Chapter 2 - Padawans**

 _ **Thirteen**_

 _ **Member, Intergalactic Federation**_

 _ **Documented: Uninhabited**_

 _ **8 years later**_

 **XXXXX**

"Peeta! That jet isn't going to lift itself!" Katniss called out as she circled the ashy, blond-haired boy whose face was screwed up in an attitude of deep concentration. "If a _girl_ can do it…"

"Shut up, will you?" he snapped, his cheeks flushed and the decrepit fighter jet that was suspended several inches from the ground fell with a wheezing, metallic boom onto the rocky earth they stood on.

Instead of responding to his anger, which she felt in the small place in her gut reserved for him, Katniss erupted into peals of laughter, collapsing on a flat rock while pointing at the jet that lay ignominiously on the ground. Even though they were born on the same planet and he was her best friend and all, there were some days, she just couldn't help but tease him. They competed over everything - who could spar the best, who could run the fastest through the dense woods surrounding the Jedi Temple, who could lift the abandoned jet fighter first and for the longest. At fourteen, they were taking out the vagaries of their hormonal changes in one long, continuous contest against each other.

As Katniss taunted him, Peeta grit his teeth and closed his eyes, every nerve ending in his body visibly crackling to life. She felt the air change, becoming heavy with his anger, like the accumulation of an electrical charge. The laughter died in her throat as she watched the tension around him grow and compound, becoming so dense, she felt it in the pit of her stomach. Peeta was the most serene person she'd ever known, but his anger, when fully ignited, was terrifying and capable of overpowering even her.

In response, she felt herself awaken and suddenly, she was in that state, the state in which every atom in her body began their cosmic dance, whirling and aligning with the fabric of energy that surrounded them, immersing her to the core of her being. But Peeta's temper flared again and those same atoms that moved serenely through the filaments of the Force now heaved and contorted with his anger.

She focused on Peeta now, the way she'd long taught herself to do. Haymitch didn't like when she interfered with Peeta's training but their connection was different from those of the other Padawan he trained in the Jedi Temple. Katniss felt that sometimes, he even feared it . It was almost involuntary, the way they could magnify the Force within each other, as he did now, taking her energy and channeling it as if it were his own. She stilled his turbulence the way he often did for her, and watched as Peeta stretched his hand outward. Soon, the ship rose evenly into the air.

Katniss felt the shifting of every particle in the metallic hull, the way Peeta's power emanated to coax each one and manipulate them to his will. She rose from where she sat against the rocky outcropping and approached him, watching as, with the same control, he set the enormous aircraft down. When the energy dissipated, she placed a hand on his left shoulder, feeling the muscles of his lightsaber arm jump at her touch before settling again.

"That's more like it," she whispered, the burst of breath causing the blond hairs at his neck to quiver.

"I was angry because I kept failing. You helped me regain control," he said, and though he said it gently, it came out like an accusation.

"I didn't do it consciously," she said. "You just - drew it out of me…the way you draw it out of everything else..." she fumbled for an explanation for the thing that had been happening between them ever since they felt the Force within them and found themselves on the same ship, constrained to leave their planet as children, for their safety and for the safety of the ones they loved. They'd been dancing this dance long before they'd ever met. "You have to quiet your thoughts. You're so strong, Peeta. You don't need the anger."

"I quieted my thoughts because of you…" he said, taking her hand and tugging her in the direction of the Temple. His deep blue eyes were pensive. "I always wonder, if I were alone, whether I could still do these things or not?"

"Master Abernathy says we can. He said we are powerful on our own. I get the feeling he would prefer that we were not so dependent on each other. But we are so much more powerful when we are together. It's who we are." Katniss stopped on the path, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

Peeta smiled, his familiar, sweet smile, raising a finger to push a strand of her wild, black hair behind her ear. "I don't want to find out what we can't do alone, okay?"

Katniss smiled, stepping up on her toes to leave a kiss on his cheek before following Peeta out of the woods and back to Haymitch and the other Padawan who lived in the last remaining Jedi Temple.

 **XXXXX**

The Temple was a large, nondescript stone building designed the way fortresses of old were once built - squat, square and meant to call as little attention to itself as possible. The majority of the edifice was below ground, with winding staircases and secret tunnels that served as bunkers in the event of an air assault as well as pathways to mysterious places in the dense jungles around the training grounds. It was the equivalent of an ant-hill, conceived by some brilliant mind as if foreseeing the need for a safe haven in some distant, poetic future that was now the present.

It was in this building that Katniss and Peeta spent their days, doing their chores, sparring and having one-on-one lessons with Master Abernathy. Katniss often considered the situation she'd found herself in since she arrived on this planet as a child. The Jedi Temple, the last known temple of its kind, was hidden on one of the remotest planets in the Outer Rim, a planet that they called simply Thirteen. It was the safest place for the Temple as it was on one of the mysterious, uncharted planets of the Outer Rim, far from the Capitol, and the pernicious reach of Supreme Leader Snow.

The coordinates given for their current home world was a long string of numbers, even more impersonal than Thirteen. Peeta and Katniss took to fondly calling it Junior, since it looked so much like home, but smaller still, with three moons, dense jungles and strange plants that seemed much more alive than the vegetation back home. It would never evoke the affection of their home planet but they'd lived on Thirteen longer than they'd lived on Igniss and could not help but embrace it as their home. Katniss hoped to one day return to her family again if only to show them that she'd turned out okay after all.

As Katniss and Peeta passed the training room, they glanced inside to see each of the Padawans engaged in some sort of sparring, the older ones guiding the younger ones as they learned to wield their weapons. Pausing at the doorway, Katniss went through her mental list of the handful of other learners in their small but tightly-knit family, salvaged from the wreckage of war-torn galaxies as planets struggled against the dictatorship of Supreme Leader Snow:

 _Darius,_ a male humanoid from the Naboo who was somewhat sweet on Katniss;

 _Luane_ , a Togruta female who had powerful Force visions that rivaled those of Master Abernathy

 _Jade_ , a female from Mon Cala who was uncommonly kind. Abernathy was sure she was an empath;

 _Gonreil_ , a Besalisk female with two sets of arms (and two lightsabers) who Katniss fondly liked to call Reil

 _Banwan_ , a force sensitive Mandalorian with a short temper and a gift with a blaster,

 _Amar_ , a humanoid from Coruscant

And the young _Lala_ and _Jongren_ , two force sensitives from Tatooine who, however, did not demonstrate the strange connection that Katniss and Peeta shared.

Katniss had various degrees of affection for each of her Padawan siblings but the vast majority of her time was spent with Peeta. As Haymitch stepped out into the corridor where they hovered, Katniss could tell from the look on his face that she should brace herself for the scolding she knew was to come.

"If you help each other every time you struggle, you will never get strong on your own," Haymitch repeated for what seemed like the upteenth time. Of all the Padawans, it seemed Haymitch rode Katniss and Peeta harder than anyone else.

"It...she didn't lift the ship or anything…" Peeta said, trying to explain but Haymitch cut him off.

"You listen here. This is not a game of 'lift the ship." If your enemies come after you, they aren't going to just let you play together because it's what you do or how you're made. They are going to separate you and, in the best case scenario, they are going to kill you. Do you understand that? This isn't some joy ride."

Katniss lowered her head in shame. She had truly been doing what came as second nature to her. Protecting Peeta. Helping him be better than what he was at the moment, just as he made her just a little bit better by being near her. She never, ever thought of the Sith in that moment. She only reacted as if she were extending a limb - natural and fluid. But perhaps there was just no way for Haymitch to understand.

"Yes, Master Abernathy. We'll try harder…" Katniss muttered.

"There is no try. Only do. Now get yourselves into training. Alone. Develop your individual strengths. Most of the defining moments in your lives will have to be confronted alone. Learn that."

Katniss and Peeta entered the training room, going in opposite directions. Darius, who had been practicing his stance, paused as Katniss neared. He had red hair, the color of a warm fire and green eyes that sparkled with mischief. He swung his lightsaber suggestively, which only made Katniss shake her head at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Peeta meet Jongren, taking over sparring with the young boy from Banwan. It made her smile to see Jongren holding the lightsaber, which appeared longer than he was tall. But Peeta's eyes were skittish, flickering over to where she stood, tracking her movements like a cat watching a bird. When she turned her attention back to Darius, she realized he'd been talking to her.

"Everdeen, I said do you want to spar?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," she said, "Yeah, let's do it," she pulled a lightsaber from the wall - a practice one, not the one she carried with her in the event of self-protection, which she never needed. In the sparring circle, Katniss went through the fighting motions. Darius was not her equal with a lightsaber, so only half of Katniss's mind was on the match. The other half was engaged in sensing Peeta in the room. It was something Haymitch could never understand. It wasn't a choice that she had to track and take care of Peeta. It was who she was, as much as her eyes were grey and her hair was black. She snapped her attention back to Darius to deflect a blow that had come a little too close to knocking her out of the ring.

As she straightened from that near-successful blow, she set her mind on the work of avoiding Darius's thrusts, which had become more confident. Katniss swung, parried, spun and attacked, catching Darius several times near the edge, only to have him recover at the last moment. When she finally knocked him off his feet, it was fiercely, as if all her frustration had boiled to the point that she had no choice but to unleash it on her unwitting partner.

"Not bad. You get better all the time," Darius said, grabbing a towel and throwing it at her.

"Yeah, tell that to Master Abernathy," she groused, still sour after her reprimand of earlier.

"Nah, he just doesn't want you to get too dependent on Peeta. Makes sense. You might have to fight alone, then what will you do?"

Katniss bit her lip, sulking at his words. Why should they fight alone? She couldn't imagine any circumstance under which she would not have Peeta by her side in a fight. The only way they could get her away from him was to kill her and she wasn't planning on dying anytime soon. Regardless, she hoped Haymitch was happy. She beat Darius, fair and square and on her own. Exchanging a few more words with him and dodging his more overt come-ons, she set her practice saber back in its place and went back to _her_ place, near Peeta who had not taken his eyes off of her even once since they entered the training room.

 **XXXXX**

The nightmares started that very night.

His cries pierced the fog of her sleeping mind. Katniss bolted upright in her bed, chest heaving, sweat gathering at her neck and brow. She looked around her at the other Padawan, sleeping quietly in their beds, the even rise and fall of their breathing punctuated with an occasional murmur from one of the dreaming girls. Katniss could still hear Peeta's screams reverberating in her ears as if he were right next to her. She rose quietly, sliding into her slippers and padding out the open door into the dimly-lit corridor. Careful not to make a sound, she tiptoed towards the men's wing.

As she rounded the stone corridor, she heard it again, the wail of anger. Pain rose in her consciousness, pain that was not hers, pain that radiated throughout her body. It was familiar and yet, at the same time, more horrible than anything she'd experienced. She broke into a run as the cries became more intense, coming from everywhere. How is it no one heard him? Why was everyone still sleeping?

When she made it to the room where the boys slept, she creeped inside on her hunter's feet, heading straight to the cracked-open window where she knew his bed was located. His tousled blond hair caught the pale moonlight and as she moved, the light and shadows shifted, creating a kind of kaleidoscope of light and darkness. She was momentarily mesmerized by the subtle changes before another cry pierced her mind, driving her to her knees beside his bed. She glanced around her at the half-dozen boys who slept quietly in their beds while Katniss's mind exploded with Peeta's agony..

"Peeta?" she whispered, gently shaking him. He didn't wake right away and she was forced to jostle him again, this time with more vigor. His eyes flew open, his pupils swallowing the blue of his eyes in the darkness. It was a natural reaction to the scarce moonlight but there was an element of unnatural intensity that terrified Katniss.

"Peeta!" she said, trying to be heard without waking the others. "Snap out of it!"

Peeta's expression softened, the fear that held him rigid slowly dissipating from him. Katniss did not realize the tension his body was in until it visibly deflated, leaving him panting and damp with sweat.

As his eyes regained their focus, they fell on Katniss. He brought his hand weakly up to her but she captured it before it fell back against the mattress.

"What happened! I heard you...screaming…" Katniss whispered in confusion, still wondering how he had screamed so desperately and yet those around him had continued sleeping as if nothing had happened.

"It was just a nightmare. I'm sorry…" he said, his eyes searching his surroundings, as if to convince himself of where he was. "I didn't mean to wake everyone…"

She shook her head, pushing aside a cluster of damp hair that clung to his forehead. "That's the thing. I don't think anyone else heard you. You were...I mean, I felt you...in my head,," she scowled as she said this, wondering how he could have taken up residence in her sleeping mind so easily.

"I don't understand…" he said.

Katniss shook her head. A shifting body reminded her that they were not alone.

"I don't want to wake the others but I think we should talk to Master Abernathy tomorrow. We're connected, yes, but we shouldn't be able to get inside each other's head like that," she said, squeezing the hand she still held. "What was that nightmare about?"

Peeta shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut, the look of pain so acute that Katniss couldn't stand it. She dropped his hand, lifting the covers under which he slept and slipped in beside him. She stretched her arm out so that he could rest on it like a pillow, her other arm lying protectively over his shoulders.

"Was it your mother?" she asked, pressing his head under her chin.

He nodded, his hair stroking her chin and neck. She repressed a shiver the sensation provoked, an odd feeling of being both tickled and caressed at the same time.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered and though he did not answer, he pulled her to him, burrowing closer to her. She stroked him as he rested against her, his forehead on her sternum, the heat under the covers almost unbearable but she held her place, her back bowed from the strength with which he clutched her. Her heart ached for his pain, for the memories of his mother's cruelty that had left such living scars on in his heart. It was the root of the anger he worked so hard to control. Only Katniss knew how great his rage was, where it lived, how to rouse it and how to temper it before it set everything on fire.

She could never forgive his mother for her damage. One thing she remembered fondly was the gentleness her parents showed her when she was young, before she was forced to leave. She could not conceive of them treating her the way Peeta's mother had treated him and to her, that was the true tragedy. Mrs. Mellark had been a cruel woman, with no innate maternal feeling. Katniss remembered seeing Peeta in the school yard, a welt more likely than not decorating his fair skin. Bruised arms. Cut lip. He was well-fed and strong, for his parents were bakers and all three brothers shared the father's wide shoulders and broad-chested build. But Peeta always looked roughed up and, as their friendship deepened, she understood why. There was no pity in Katniss's heart for the woman when she considered that Peeta had been taken from someone like that.

They lay wrapped around one another for the remainder of the night. Only when the sky through Peeta's open window changed to diffuse shades of orange, pink and magenta did Katniss try to untangle herself, hoping to slip away unnoticed before the rest of the Padawan woke. But she had underestimated Peeta, who woke the moment her muscles bunched, before she had even begun to move.

"Stay," he mumbled, and she knew he was not completely awake.

"I can't," she signed, untangling herself from him. "The other Padawans...it's already too much that I'm here." He released her as she stood, smoothing the wrinkles from her robes but held his hand a few moments longer before finally releasing him. Before she'd turned around, he was already snoring. She crept out and returned to her bed but try as she might, she could no longer sleep. The feeling, if not the images, of Peeta's nightmare pierced her sense of peace and kept her from finding that release that comes from the sweet oblivion of sleep.

 **XXXXX**

"And Katniss, you sensed his nightmare, though you were in your room?" Haymitch said as he paced the spartan room that served as his study. Privy of all luxuries, the only thing it boasted was floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that lined three of the four walls. Haymitch actually kept a library deeper underground, in one of the more impenetrable rooms of the complex. It held some of the most important and unique texts regarding the Jedi, their history and lore. He took the Padawan's to this underground library to study, encouraging his young proteges to learn about the history of who they were.

"It's...it's not the first time," Katniss said. Peeta, who was still shaken, remained quiet and let her speak for them.

"It's not the first time that he's had nightmares?" Haymitch probed.

"No...I mean...yes, obviously he's had nightmares before. But I've sensed his nightmares before. I've actually...I've actually had visions...of things that happened to him...in the past.'

Haymitch leaned back and watched them both - Peeta who still carried that nightmare of his mother around with him like an open wound and Katniss, gripping his hand, trying to be strong for the both of them, _being_ strong for the both of them. She wasn't sure what she expected from Haymitch but it felt right to finally tell him. It was important, though she couldn't say with any certainty why.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Haymitch asked finally, taking a seat at the table that separated them.

"Because," Katniss huffed in exasperation. "You're always so down on us with this whole thing we do. We'd just as soon not get fussed at. But it's gotten stronger and I'm starting to think we're more than just different. This was totally different from anything that I've experienced in the past - it was evil and aggressive and scary."

"We're scared, Haymitch," Peeta said finally. "Something's not right."

Haymitch drummed his fingers on the wood before them, nodding silently to himself. "There is something amiss, on this I agree. Let me make my inquiries and I promise, I'll tell you what I find out," he said. He gave them a strange look as he rose, signifying the conversation was over. "Thank you...for coming to me with this. It's more important than you realize."

They both nodded solemnly before making their exits.

 **XXXXX**

Gonereil stood in fighting position, both of her lightsabers vibrating before her in the air. She had the classic lilac colored skin of the Besalisk, the large, gold eyes, a long, beak-like nose and an extra set of arms that made sparring with her a formidable challenge for any of the other Padawans. Katniss, however, thrived on the challenge of besting her frenemy. She respected Gonreil, whom she'd nicknamed Reil, and cared for her deeply as a fellow Padawan and future Jedi. But the moment the lightsabers emerged, she practically panted with the desire to defeat her.

"Kicking your ass is nothing personal, Reil," Katniss said, just loud enough so that only her opponent could hear her. She activated her practice lightsaber, it's light glowing bright green, in contrast to Peeta's, which glowed a warm orange, like the sunset. They were in the middle of a small amphitheater surrounded by Master Abernathy and the remaining eight Padawans, including Peeta.

"Oh, I don't take it personally. Anyway, I'm one up up on you, Everdeen. I'd be offended if you didn't try to take me," she said, her tone honeyed and sweet, as if she were paying Katniss the greatest compliment, which perhaps she was, in her own twisted way. She swung both lightsabers, testing her reflexes, expertly keeping the two elegant electronic blades from crossing paths. Reil was the only one who could get away with training and fighting with two lightsabers, giving her an advantage over the other Padawans, especially the two youngsters who could barely fight with one.

Soon, Katniss was under attack. She swung and parried as she'd practiced, focusing on the movement of her lightsaber and not on the frustration of having to parry two swords instead of one. She felt the familiar impatience with her disadvantage rise up in her, as well as a certain glee that came from fighting well. Abernathy always warned her of her pride but there was nothing Katniss enjoyed more than feeling the satisfaction that came when her skill was in harmony with her body.

Katniss felt the Force move through her, lighting her up with the choreography of a preordained dance, her feet, arms and sword moving of their own volition. While she fought, she was able to forget everything - Peeta's horrific nightmare, her growing connection to him, the vague danger that the dark side represented to her. Captured in the fluidity of pure motion, it was only in a fight that Katniss reached that state that seemed to elude her in meditation. All thought ended and it was only her, the lightsaber, her opponent and the pure energy of the Force uniting all of them in one, continuous fabric of existence. She was never more herself than when she was in the heat of a fight.

Despite this, Reil was in rare form and Katniss soon felt her elegant dance give way to the exertion of keeping up with her Besalisk friend. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead as she was forced backwards, nearly knocked out of the ring that meant defeat if she fell beyond it's white line. Reil swept her swords in opposite directions, forcing Katniss to choose which sword to parry and which to evade, making a mash of her movements, forcing her to stumble onto one knee as she managed to deflect both swords. She felt her focus slipping as she became aware of the possibility that she might lose.

Her frustration flooded her limbs, causing her movements to become sluggish. As Katniss rose to her feet to resume her starting stance, she glanced up at Peeta, sure that he could foresee her impending defeat in her fallen features. It would crown a dismal week with a public throttling by one of her greatest rivals. He could read her and she almost felt like apologizing for letting this round get away from her.

Katniss held her lightsaber before her, watching Reil's smug smile as she brought her double swords down on her again. Without warning, Katniss felt a sudden surge of energy in her muscles, a sharpening of her mind and, without the minimal premeditation, her sword arm swept outwards and upwards, blocking the double blow such that Reil found herself dangerously open to her opponent. Without wasting a moment, Katniss switched her sword hand to the left and pivoted on her downward stroke, catching Reil completely by surprise. Spinning like a ballerina Katniss landed her lightsaber nearly on the breast pad that protected Reil from contact, a blow Reil avoided with a quick step backwards. Caught unaware, Reil nearly dropped her lightsabers before recovering, lunging towards Katniss again. Her attack was sloppy, borne out of the surprise of a recovered Katniss, who met her attack head on, forcing the opening she needed to step into her space and tap her almost comically with the tip of her sword on her right shoulder.

Pulling back, Katniss resumed her en guarde position, waiting for Haymitch to call the result of the match. Reil stared at Katniss with something close to awe, her breath coming in gasps while Katniss struggled to calm the adrenaline coursing through her system.

Haymitch stood before the two fighters, considering each of them. Then, he turned to Katniss and bowed stiffly, awarding her the victory. Katniss repressed the urge to punch the air as she turned towards Reil and bowed. When Reil straightened, she gave Katniss a nod before rushing off the mat. Katniss, who could just make out Peeta's face beyond the small crowd of Padawan, made her way towards him but was stopped by Haymitch. Instead, he signaled to Peeta to join them.

"Peeta, whose sparring session was this?" Haymitch asked when Peeta reached Katniss's side..

The blood drained from Peeta's face as he answered his mentor sheepishly. "Katniss's, Master Abernathy."

"Then please refrain from intervening when she should be fighting alone or next time, I will declare a forfeit," Haymitch said. "Or did you think I wouldn't notice that Katniss suddenly became a left-handed fighter?"

Katniss thought of the surge of energy, the sudden focus. She should have known that it had come from him. She didn't feel Haymitch's anger, but gratitude for her best friend. Peeta, for his part, looked like someone had slapped him and it set her temper off. She stepped in front of Peeta and turned towards Haymitch. "Why?" she demanded.

"Excuse me?" Haymitch answered, his voice dropping to a dangerous octave.

"Why can't he help me in a contest? It's our nature to help each other. You said so yourself," Katniss said, her chin jutting out in defiance.

"Because it gives you an unfair advantage over the other Padawans. In battle, you are free to use any and all tactics to win, but here…"

"But Gonreil gets to fight with two lightsabers, something no one else is allowed to do, because of her…" Katniss swung her arms to indicate Reil's extra arms. " _Nature_. So why can't we?"

Haymitch's features darkened while Peeta stared at her with eyes wide and mouth agape. No one ever defied the Jedi Master. He knew what was best and this truth went unquestioned by every Padawan in the temple. Katniss herself expected a force blow or some kind of punishment. In fact, she welcomed it. Seeing Peeta reprimanded or hurt in any way woke a sleeping beast inside of her that demanded restitution and she knew, in that moment, she'd fight Master Abernathy himself if it came down to it. More importantly, she was certain that Haymitch knew this also.

Meanwhile, Haymitch lapsed into pensive silence, considering both of his Padawans. Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch were bonded together in a special way, because they were from the same planet, the same District of Panem even. Haymitch tried his best to be fair with all his Padawan and not demonstrate his preference for the two odd children from Ignis but Katniss knew that she and Peeta had a special place in his heart. As she watched him, she saw the war between his affections and his duty. But she knew Haymitch too well to think he would let this slide.

After several more moments of silence, Haymitch responded, "I will consider what you have said. In the meantime, you each have two extra hours of clean-up duty today," Haymitch said before turning and walking away from them, without another word.

When Haymitch left the amphitheatre, Peeta turned towards Katniss. "I wish you wouldn't do that."

Katniss was taken aback. "Do what?"

"You should have just let him scold me. At least we wouldn't have had to clean bathrooms tonight," Peeta scowled.

"It was unfair of him to go after you like that. He always acts like there's something wrong with the way we are. Luane has Force visions and can see the future better than Haymitch and Jade is a powerful empath. I don't see him telling them to suppress their gifts. Why does he have to give us a hard time?" Katniss groused as they walked together towards their chambers.

"I don't know but he's still our Master and we have to respect him," Peeta said calmly.

"I respect him! But…" Katniss scowled at the floor. She didn't know how to tell him, could hardly articulate it to herself. "No one comes after you without going through me."

Peeta stopped and stared at Katniss. "That's...wow, Katniss."

Katniss felt herself flush with an unfamiliar feeling, a strange combination of adrenaline, embarrassment and an excitement that was different from the one she felt fighting Gonreil. "Well, yeah. That's what we do, right? Protect each other," Katniss bumped Peeta with her shoulder, trying to diffuse the sudden tension caused by her words. "Anyway, I'm the only one who's allowed to go after you. Everybody else needs to step back."

Peeta chuckled as they stopped before Katniss's chamber door. "I suppose I don't need anyone else knocking me around besides you," he joked but there was a strange look in his eyes that made her want to both lose herself in it and run away and hide. She'd never had trouble looking at him before but now, she felt like she couldn't hold his gaze. "But the truth is, I couldn't help myself. I couldn't watch Reil beat you down like that. And I'll do it again. Every time."

"Every time?" Katniss asked, suddenly flushing with genuine pleasure. But she knew this already, didn't she? Why were his words affecting her so?

"Always," he said, his eyes darkening. Katniss felt a sudden pull, as if she were being hypnotized by him. She wondered briefly if it was another one of his secret abilities that was just starting to emerge - the ability to scramble her thoughts with a single look. She couldn't be sure because the spell was broken when he dropped his eyes to the ground.

Katniss squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath to rid herself of the strange uneasiness between them. "So I guess we'll be meeting up for toilet duty?" she asked.

"Two hours of scrubbing fun. Looking forward to it," he said and though the mood was all but gone, Katniss caught the glimmer of something in his unbelievably blue eyes before he turned and walked back to his rooms.

 **XXXXX**

Katniss and Peeta were called to see Haymitch a few days later. He invited them to sit around what was once the Jedi Council table in a time before theirs, when Jedi Masters presided over the forces of good in the universe, when there was still balance, before evil had crowded out the light, plunging everything in darkness. The break in routine made Katniss feel suddenly very vulnerable. She slid her hand beneath the table and captured one of Peeta's, gripping it fiercely. He answered by twining his fingers through hers and clasping them tightly between his own.

Haymitch gathered his robes as he took a seat across from them, watching them carefully with that impassive face that revealed none of its secrets. It was Katniss's desperation - her complete inability to read her mentor's intentions without penetrating into his mind, an excursion he rarely gave her the luxury of taking.

"The two of you have been a pain in my behind since I first collected you from Ignis and brought you here," Haymitch said, rubbing his face with both hands. "Initially, I thought your bond was nothing more than two kids from the same town connecting with each other to cope with being in a new place. It was actually...easier for me to accept dragging the both of you here, knowing that you'd at least have each other," Haymitch leaned his elbows on the table to better study Katniss and Peeta.

"I had no idea the connection ran so deeper," he said.

"What do you mean, Haymitch?" Peeta asked, lapsing into the more familiar use of his first name in private.

Haymitch took a deep breath before dragging a large book that Katniss only now noticed rested on the table. He flipped through the pages, its age and knowledge hanging heavily like a cloak around it. "I started to do research, something I should have done a long time ago, but Jedi Masters can become blind also...History books speak of a time when there were many types of Jedi. Every now and again, during times of great darkness, a set of Force-sensitives appear, sometimes twins, most of the time not, which is very rare among Jedi. It's so rare, I didn't understand who I had on my hands until you began to mature and your bond revealed itself to be fueled, not only by childhood friendship or familiarity, but by the Force itself.

"When these Force-sensitives first appeared in the days of the ancients, they were named Heretics, because they violated the primitive understanding of how the Force works. However, with each successive appearance, it was understood that these Symbionts appeared during as a herald that Good would soon emerge to fight back the evil of the Sith." Haymitch pushed the book towards the stunned pair. "This symbiotic relationship that the first Jedi feared was also what made them exceptionally strong. You saw how Peeta was able to tip the scales of your match with Gonreil and became instrumental in your victory." Katniss sagged when she remembered how angry Haymitch had been when the match had ended.

Haymitch stood suddenly, startling Katniss, causing her to ready her lightsaber in self-defense.

Peeta placed his hand on the hilt of his own weapon and watched Haymitch as he stared at Katniss's gleaming green blade. He chuckled but waved her outstretched weapon calmly away. "Don't be afraid of me. The last thing I want to do is harm either of you."

Katniss shut off her lightsaber and placed it on her belt while Peeta relaxed and placed his hand on the table. Haymitch paced as he spoke. "The Symbionts possess important, defining characteristics. They share Force visions. They are empathetic to each other's mental and emotional state. They prefer the company of the other above all else. They are strongest when they are together, because they can augment the Force within each other. Starting to sound familiar?"

Katniss had lost all ability to think, much less communicate, prompting Peeta to speak instead. "Is this why we sense each other's nightmares and understand each other's feelings?"

Haymitch nodded, looking up at the canopy of night from the large opening in the stone ceiling, the starlight barreling down on them in jagged projectiles of light, illuminating the darkness beyond.

"Yes. Because of this, Jedi sought them out and protected them. But the Sith...the power represented by these Symbionts was too irresistible to them. They sought to turn them or destroy them altogether. That's why it's more important than ever that we keep you hidden from the Sith Lord. If he comes to know of your existence, he will try to turn you or eventually, destroy you."

"Has a...I don't know, Heretic or Symbiont...have they ever been turned?" Peeta asked.

Haymitch frowned as he reached across to the book before him. "Yes. Once. Many millennia ago. It brought nearly a thousand years of darkness to the galaxy."

"That's bad," Katniss said.

"What you are, what you both are. It's...extraordinary...it means that Light will come soon to the galaxy. Good will return. Balance will be restored. But you are also both in a dangerous place right now as you grow into your power. Every battle you fight, the other will feel also. It will weaken or strengthen you, depending on how you choose to exercise your power. Your very attachment, the thing that makes you strong, is also your greatest weakness..." He turned towards Katniss, deep creases of worry marring his forehead, frightening her. "The more your power grows, the more likely you might be detected by Lord Invictus. I'm afraid a confrontation will be inevitable.

"We'll leave," Peeta said suddenly. "We'll go away so that the Jedi Temple isn't exposed. We don't want anyone to suffer because of us."

Katniss gripped Peeta's hand again, exchanging a look that said everything they needed to say to each other. They made no attempt to hide it from Haymitch. What would be the point? Their very natures were laid out, exposed. There were no secrets about who they were, why they were so strong. "Yes, we can leave, Haymitch."

Haymitch appeared conflicted and for a minute, Katniss was sure he would take them up on their offer and help them leave Thirteen. But soon, his face became hard and decisive. "The Sith are rising. There is a deep disturbance in the Force and trying times are coming, though I can't say what they are. The dark side is clouding the future, making it opaque and hard to read," Haymitch peered directly at Katniss and Peeta and the intensity sent jets of icy terror through her veins. "But I promised your parents that I would take care of you until you were able to do for yourselves. If the Sith know of your existence, you will be sought out. But I'm not going to let you face them alone."

"Our existence puts everyone around us in danger!" Peeta said, becoming suddenly agitated.

"No, Padawan Mellark. They were in danger the moment the Force awoke in them. And that is not anybody's fault, not theirs and certainly not yours." He jabbed his finger at them. "You will stay. We'll take precautions, run drills and accelerate training, even for Jongrel and Laal. But you are not going off by yourselves. We are a team and we stick together." Haymitch leaned on the table, staring down at both of them.

"I've always wondered why I was given this fate, to...train the last of you in this Temple...why was I, of all people, given this responsibility. I finally understand." Haymitch shook his head, wearily but with a determination Katniss had never seen before.

"This is where we will make our stand."

 **XXXXX**

The Temple was a flurry of activity over the next few days as trainings intensified. A sense of urgency filled everyone, though their routines did not really change. There was less downtime and more combat training - hand-to-hand combat, blaster rifles, crossbows, even camouflage, which Peeta proved exceptionally adept at.

Yet, even with the newfound feeling of battle-readiness, Master Abernathy insisted that they also continue their quieter pursuits - studying and meditation, something Katniss did not particularly favor. However, she had no choice and settled into her meditation pose as her mind raced. She heard the clearing of a throat and observed Master Abernathy staring at her. He dipped his head towards her to acknowledge that he knew her spirit was in turmoil, before shutting his eyes again and returning to his own mediations. All she wanted to do was train, become a better fighter. What good would mediating do her in the battlefield?

Besides, her mind was a mess. She couldn't help thinking about home, or the Sith or Peeta for that matter. She glanced next to her and observed that Peeta appeared more serene, more lost in his meditations. He was so much better at the spiritual aspects of their training, the whole introversion and deep thought that lead to no thought whatsoever. Katniss was pure energy, trusting action above feeling. She knew that this part, the practice of trying to calm that energy, was her weakness.

As if sensing that she was watching him, Peeta opened one eye and glanced at her. It only made her want to laugh, which meant she'd have to work twice as hard to settle down and get her mind to do the same until when she felt a wave of calm and peace wash over her. The tension Katniss had been carrying in her muscles since their conversation with Haymitch drained away, replaced by peace and quiet. She knew where her serenity came from and, for once, Haymitch wasn't on top of them to stop. She sent a wave of gratitude to her partner, her best friend, her _symbiont_ and settled into her meditation.

When she'd managed to still her thoughts, her mind opened and suddenly, she was gripped by a vision. No longer on Thirteen, she was back on her homeworld, the forest a luminous green towering over her. She was in the middle of a hunt, her foot quiet and sure on the fallen vegetation of the forest floor. She stiffened as she sensed her prey. Crouched behind a thistle bush, she watched the large stag, with its majestic stance and towering antlers sniff the air. Katniss was standing upwind of the creature and was confident he would not catch her scent. Her arrow nocked back, she was ready to strike.

However, as soon as she let her arrow fly, the scene changed and she was in the heart of an inferno. Fire fell from the sky and the ground beneath her shook. She'd never seen the Starkiller Base but knew, without knowing why, that she was watching one at work by the unnatural tower of energy that seem to pierce the planet like a cosmic lightsaber. Katniss felt the heat of the fire on her skin, singing the end of her braid. Everywhere she looked, the world was erupting. The earth split open, through which lava burbled forth, with it's choking, acrid fumes. Somehow, Katniss had a vision of the ocean, the chasm in it's bed causing a wave as large as the highest mountain to come crashing down many miles past the shore. The glaciers of the poles cracked and slid against each other in a morbidly romantic dance, while animals she'd never seen before became trapped in the splitting ice.

Katniss gasped as trees fell on her. The deer she'd set out to shoot was nowhere to be found and she hoped silently that he would find a safe place to go. It was the stuff of nightmares and she was drowning in it, because what she saw was real. This was happening. This is how her planet was being murdered.

The worst were the people, trapped in their homes, falling into the enormous crevices that rent the ground open. They were people she remembered - her friends, classmates, teachers. But most horrifying of all was her family - her father, her mother and her baby sister, now a school-age girl, with double blond braids and gentle blue eyes like the summer sky. The fires that lay trapped in the heart of the planet were being torn forth, used not to fuel the building of continents, mountains and oceans, but to rip itself apart, from the inside out. And on the precipice of death were the people she loved the most. When they fell into the lava, clinging to each other in the hope that they would meet death together, and not horrifically alone, Katniss screamed, a cry that followed her from the interior of her mind into the meditation room. She opened her eyes to find Peeta at her side, holding her as her terror died on her lips, to be replaced by her weeping.

"Shhhh…" he whispered into her hair. "It's going to be okay." All the other Padawan eyes were on them but Haymitch dismissed them with a wave of his hand before approaching Katniss.

"What happened to her?" Peeta asked, a look of desperation on his face. Katniss hated that he suffered because of her, but she couldn't stem the flow of her grief.

Haymitch knelt before her, studying her, before taking her head in his large hands. "May I?" He asked gently.

Katniss nodded as she felt Haymitch enter her mind. Weak with agony, she offered him no resistance. When he was done, he leaned back on his haunches, staring at her with an expression that barely masked his horror.

"I don't know...where did that come from?" she gasped through her tears. Meditation was supposed to lead to the absence of thought, not to waking nightmares of things she'd never been a witness to.

"I'm not sure…" Haymitch said with a shaky voice. "Are you up to resuming your meditation again?"

Katniss shook her head, visibly trembling. "I can't...I can't risk seeing that again." She gripped the lapel of Peeta's robe. "I watched Ignis get...destroyed. Peeta, I watched my family..." she hiccupped and cried into his chest. He held her in turn, and she could feel his own pain rise up in response to hers. He felt everything she felt, grieved as she grieved. It was part and parcel of their peculiar connection, a connection that seemed to grow stronger with each day that passed. She could feel his tears loosen also and soon, he was in mourning together with her.

"It's okay, Katniss. It wasn't real…" Peeta said in his most soothing voice, though he punctuated it with a small sob of his own.

"But it was real! I saw exactly what happened! I know it in my bones, Peeta," she hiccuped. "That is how our planet died, with fire and lava and so...much...pain!" Katniss trembled, clinging to him even more.

Haymitch shook his head, a stricken expression on his face. "This is the first time I've ever seen…" his voice faltered, having only glimpsed with his mind probe a small part of what Katniss had experienced. "I'm going to consult my contacts.." he said. Katniss wasn't convinced of his words, and instinctively reached out to probe his mind in turn, stretching the tendrils of her powerful consciousness outwards, searching for the what he hid from her. However, Haymitch was no Padawan and would not have his thoughts exposed in that way. He masked himself from her mind probe, making it impossible for her to determine if he was telling the truth or not.

"I have a theory but I'm not going to tell you until I've investigated," he said, as if in response to her unspoken question. "And I've told you again and again - you must ask permission before trying to read my thoughts," he said sternly as he stood.

"My apologies, Master," Katniss said, gulping air "I overstepped my boundaries and I am sorry."

"Your loss blinds you. Loss is suffering. Suffering leads to fear. Fear is the path to the Dark Side. See how your decisions are already compromised?" He rubbed his face, suddenly appearing old to Katniss' eyes. "Peeta, help her back to her room so that she can rest. I'll call for you when my investigation is complete."

"Yes, Master Abernathy," Peeta answered, wiping his tear-stained face with his sleeves as Haymitch walked away. He gently lifted Katniss to her feet but even with his support, her legs felt wobbly and unsteady. Without warning, Peeta lifted her up in his arms and carried her towards her bedroom.

"I've got you," he said. Katniss leaned her head into the crook of his neck, the horror of her day-mare draining slowly away, replaced by the safety of Peeta's arms. When they arrived in her room, he set her down on the bed and sat next to her, undoing her braid and threading his fingers through it until her hair lay loose on the pillow.

"It was terrible," she whispered, trying to keep from crying again.

"I know," Peeta said, stroking her hair the way she liked. Soon she was mellow, feeling bit by bit better than she had in the meditation room. "Haymitch will figure it out. Why during meditation, though? Why that memory?" he said, more to himself.

"It felt, not like a surging of memory but...an attack. The vision forced its way into my consciousness and wouldn't leave me." Katniss sat up suddenly. "It was dark and terrible, full of black passions, anger, grief, pain…"

"All stuff of the dark side," Peeta said, in awe of the very words as he spoke them.

"Peeta...if it's true…" she said, trembling.

"No," he said firmly. "You're not allowed to think that way. Let Master Abernathy do his work. In the meantime, rest." He pressed her back onto her pillow, taking her hand and stroking it.

"But if the dark side is making itself known…" Katniss protested, shooting back upright, feeling both her fear and the fear he tried to hide from her. He should know better than to think he could keep anything from her.

"Stop!" he said firmly. Katniss lay back down in response to him. "You'll just make yourself crazy with theories and make me crazy in consequence." He gave her a weak smile, caressing her palms and fingers, lulling Katniss into a deep state of relaxation. Peeta was her best friend and even if he was as scared as she was, he always knew what she needed. She tugged him down next to her, forgetting all decorum. He paused but she shook her head, warding off any further protests. Soon she was in the cocoon of his warm arms, safe, even if her exposed mind was anything but.

 **XXXXX**

When Haymitch called them again, there was a look on his face that Katniss would only ever see one more time, later, when everything came to an end.

"Katniss, Peeta. Please, sit down." He sat also, staring at them from across the table.

"I don't know how to say this," Haymitch said carefully, schooling his face, which looked like it would melt into some great emotion that, when he finally relented, would carry him away. Instinctively, Peeta, grasped Katniss's hand and held it tightly.

"Your...vision...it wasn't…" Haymitch closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Something's happened...back home...It was…"

Katniss understood before he said it and turned her face into Peeta's chest, hoping that, by keeping him from uttering the words, it would not be true. Peeta sat rigid with fear, slow to come to his own understanding. But when he did, he visibly shattered, holding her in return. After all, it was his planet too.

"Our families? District 12?" Katniss felt the hysteria rise within her. "Ignis?"

With a hollowness in his voice that would haunt Katniss all the days of her life, Haymitch said, "There is no more Ignis."

 **XXXXX**

I can't thank **thegirlfromoverthepond** enough for her support and her honesty about some plot holes that I addressed in revision. She was also instrumental in thinking through future plot points that were a natural consequence of things that happened in this chapter. In addition, **finnicko-loves-anniec** lent me her expertise of the Star Wars universe, which have proven invaluable and I am grateful for her help. She saves me repeatedly from looking like an idiot.

I want to thank **akai-echo** for being my friend, my support and for putting in so much effort into this banner. She did a phenomenal job on it.

A note regarding names: _Ignis_ is the Latin word for _fire_. I was originally searching for a Latin word for _coal_ which is, ignominiously, _carbones_. That's really not much of a name for a planet, lol. So I went with _Ignis_ , to illustrate the relative geographic youth of the planet and to call to mind Katniss' moniker, _**Girl on Fire**_.

I hope to update weekly, as I have written much of this fic ahead of time but I am also starting Camp NaNoWriMo and have a commitment with a writing challenge so we shall see. I will do my best :).


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